Peru warmly welcomes Chinese investment and is ready to serve as
a platform for Chinese products to enter the South American market,
said visiting Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo on
Thursday.
When addressing a China-Peru business seminar, Toledo said Peru
admires the economic achievements made by the Chinese people and
hopes China can expand its investment in Peru.
Also yesterday,
China and Peru signed seven cooperation accords following a
meeting between President Hu Jintao
and Toledo.
The accords include a treaty on highway and waterway
construction, and agreements on economic and technological
cooperation, health, tourism and intellectual property rights.
China, Peru's second largest trading partner and its third
biggest export market, pledged to further bilateral trade and
strengthen cooperation in energy, agriculture, communications and
infrastructure construction, according to Hu.
During yesterday's meeting, the Chinese president called on both
governments to create a positive environment for the enterprises of
the two countries.
"I believe that, with our joint efforts, the China-Peru
comprehensive cooperative partnership will definitely produce
fruitful results and bring benefits to the two countries and the
two peoples," Hu said.
The Peruvian president said that the two economies are highly
complementary to each other, and both sides have great potential to
enlarge bilateral investment and trade. Toledo reiterated that
Peru, China's second largest Latin American investment destination,
recognizes China's complete market economy status.
It is hoped that both sides continue to expand and reinforce
cooperation, especially cooperation in the areas of mining,
infrastructure construction and tourism, said Toledo.
China has already poured approximately US$300 million into
Peru's mining, oil and fishery industries. By the end of 2004, the
two-way trade volume was valued at US$1.94 billion, an increase of
74.4 percent over the previous year. In the first quarter of 2005,
bilateral trade surged to US$682 million, jumping 124.1 percent
over the same period last year.
Toledo's six-day visit started on Wednesday. During his stay, he
will meet with other senior Chinese leaders, including top
legislator Wu
Bangguo and Premier Wen
Jiabao.
He will also visit Shanghai, Xi'an -- capital of northwest
China's Shaanxi
Province, and Guangzhou -- capital of south China's Guangdong
Province.
(China Daily June 3, 2005)